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XVII: A Shot to the Heart
Xena Even though we were trapped in this room with Mizo and Ozone, I heard the chaos that was happening outside. It was a terrible mixture of explosions, gunshots, and the cries of the fallen. There was no way for me to tell who was winning, but I knew I had to get back out there before we let D.C. fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, to do so I had to get past Mizo, and he would not let up. None of my training did any good against him. He knew my every move, so past experience was out of the question. “What’s wrong Xena? You look a little winded. Do you need a rest?” he taunted. “I swear, when I get my hands on you I’m going to raise your voice an octave,” I hissed. He laughed. “Okay then, prove it. I’ll let you get the first assault this time.” I didn’t care if this was a trap or not. This asshole gave me a chance to hit first, and I was not going to let it slip by so easily. I charged him, but instead of running into him, I jumped over him. Then I rolled beside him, and I kicked at his ankles. I figured that if I did something that I hadn’t done before, then he wouldn’t be able to read my moves so easily. Sadly, this was not the case. He easily blocked my kick, and he grabbed my leg by my ankle. He swung me around 8 times before flinging me into the wall. I barely had any time to recover. The second I hit the wall, he sprinted to me and elbowed me in the stomach. As I leaned down in pain, he gave me an uppercut to the face. Then, he roundhouse kicked me as I was reeling. I fell to the ground. He jumped on me, and landed a volley of punches on my face. I had to think of something fast before he started to deal some serious damage. Marc I didn’t know where these guys kept coming from. Ozone wasn’t very large, but he had the strength of 10 rhinos. It also didn’t help that he was very nimble. Drake and I couldn’t land a combined attack on him because every time we tried, he would attack us both at once. It was miserable. “I was expecting the Avatar’s sidekicks to have a little more spirit than this. What a waste of my time,” he said condescendingly. I could see Drake’s demeanor change. “We may not be as strong as Xena, but we are not sidekicks. And I’m going to prove it. Come on!” Ozone charged Drake, and to my surprise, Drake landed a solid hit to Ozone’s jaw during his charge. Ozone didn’t appear hurt, but he looked very stunned. “Had enough?” Drake teased. “Hardly,” Ozone replied with a dark tone. Ozone charged Drake again, except this time, his movements were far more erratic. Drake didn’t have a chance at blocking any of his attacks, and Ozone relentlessly landed a volley of punches on Drake’s torso. Drake started coughing up blood, and that’s when I realized I had to do something. I ran to attack Ozone, but he kicked me in the face, leaving me stunned. When I came to, he was still attacking Drake fiercely. Both of them were dangerously close to the window, and it looked like he was about to knock Drake right through it. Drake fell to his knees, unable to take any more punishment, and Ozone readied the final blow. “When you’re in hell, tell them that Ozone sent you!” Ozone yelled. Drake could only cough up more blood in response. As Ozone was about to kick him out the window, I sprinted as fast as I could, and I tackled Ozone. Unfortunately, I didn’t take into consideration how close both of us were to the window, and we crashed right through it. My only chance of survival was landing in the water, and there was no guarantee that that would happen. Drake I couldn’t believe it. My little brother just saved my life. I was just seconds away from being kicked out of the window. But, that rescue came at such a great cost. Marc, I just want you to know that despite our vastly different personalities, I had nothing but love and respect for you. I hope you knew that. I learned so much about you during this mission, and I swear on my life that your sacrifice will not be in vain. Journey well. Xena I heard the window crash, and I knew something terrible had happened. Also, I had enough of Mizo beating me to a pulp. I shot electric blasts out of my eyes, and they hit him square in the chest. He was sent flying into the wall, and he remained stunned. “Why can’t I be aware of these abilities before I get into these situations?” I thought to myself. I quickly ran over to Drake. “Drake, where’s Marc and Ozone?” I asked, even though I knew what the answer was. Drake shook his head. “Marc killed Ozone, but he lost his own life in the process.” I knelt down next to Drake, and I tried my very best to comfort him. “I’m so sorry Drake.” “It’s okay. Now isn’t the time for grieving. D.C. is under attack, and we have to go protect it,” he said with a shaky voice. I looked him in the eyes with great concern. “Drake, it is okay to grieve. You shouldn’t deny yourself that feeling.” Drake paused for a moment. Then, the tears started to roll down his face. He wasn’t sniffling at all however. He was trying his hardest not start bawling. “I just, I just don’t know what to do anymore Xena. Marc was the last family I had. I swore that I would make sure nothing happened to him, but I couldn’t even keep that promise. First my parents, then my sister, and now him? No matter how hard I try, everyone I want to protect dies. You should run away from me while you still have the chance,” Drake lamented. I embraced him. “Sometimes, there is just nothing you can do to keep your loved ones from getting hurt. I know you did the best you could, and you have to accept that. Please don’t let yourself fall into despair. The world really needs you. I really need you.” Drake pushed me away, and he turned to look out the window. I sighed. “Drake, I know what you’re going through.” “Xena, no you don’t,” he hissed. “Yes, I do. I wasn’t going to tell you this, because this is not something I like to remember, but I think now is the right time. 10 years ago, at the start of the Human-Robot War, both of my parents were killed. I was forced to watch the whole thing on TV. I was on a mission to stop the robots, but I couldn’t save my parents from the very thing I wanted to destroy.” I paused, trying to hold back tears. Then, I continued. “I felt the same way you do right now. Powerless, a failure. Luckily for me, I had a great group of friends to help pull me through. I know I’m only one person, but, maybe I can do the same for you.” Drake turned to look at me. “Xena, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. It seems like we’ve both had some pretty rough situations to overcome.” “You’re right, but look at where we are now. Together, we can save D.C., and restore balance. What do you say?” I said a little more cheerfully. Drake smiled. “I’m ready to save the world. Heal me up please.” I used my powers to heal his wounds. It took a little longer than normal since most of his injuries were internal. “C’mon, let’s get out of here,” I said. A familiar female voice spoke from behind us. “You two aren’t going anywhere.” Shocked, we both turned around. It was Amber! “You look happy to see me Xena. What’s wrong? Are you really so attached to Drake that you can’t even give me a hug?” she teased. “Stop dancing around the issue!” I demanded. “What are you doing here? Now isn’t the time for a love triangle.” “I agree,” she said with a sinister tone. She quickly teleported to Mizo, and she healed him with her own abilities. Drake was livid. “Amber, what the hell?! Whose side are you on anyway?” “She’s on my side you fools,” Mizo exclaimed. “It seems that I’m the only one that can heal her broken heart. The poor soul doesn’t deserve to be treated poorly by the Avatar and her cronies.” I was in complete disbelief. “Amber, is this true? I know we had our fights here and there, but would you really go this far?” “You broke my heart Xena. I didn’t want to do this, but I had to run somewhere. I knew Drake was stealing you from me the moment he joined our group. I never had a chance. So this is payback,” she said. “You crazy bitch. You’re about to throw the world into chaos with Mizo just because you got dumped? Get over yourself,” Drake growled. Mizo and Amber both laughed. Whatever game they were trying to play, I didn’t want to be a part of it. D.C. was in trouble, and I had to save it. “I don’t have time for this. I’m going back to D.C. right now,” I said adamantly. I rushed for the exit, but Amber blocked me off. “You’re not going anywhere. I thought I made that clear,” she commanded. “I’m going to save this city, even if I have to go through you,” I threatened. “You don’t have the balls.” “Try me.” I clenched my fist, and I hit her in the face as hard as I could. The force of that punch would easily kill a normal human, but Amber’s accelerated healing spared her a quick death. Either way, this was not going to end well for her. Drake Xena went off to fight Amber, so I was left alone with Mizo. “You look worried boy. You couldn’t even hold a candle to Ozone without the help of your brother. What makes you think you stand a chance against me?” Mizo said. He had a point. My fighting was average at best, and he clearly held many advantages over me. I would have to think of something clever to beat him. Next time on 13th Redux... Category:Chapters